P C - A C C O U N T VERSION 2.11 AUGUST 1987 A Peppy Home Accounting Program For The IBM PC Formats Checks to Print On Your Personal Checks PC-ACCOUNT is NOT a public domain program. It is copyrighted and distributed as SHAREWARE. PC-ACCOUNT may be distributed on bulletin boards, by computer user groups and by others who distribute it for $10 or less. PC-ACCOUNT may only be distributed if all three original distribution files, PCACT205.TXT, PCACT205.ARC and PCDOC205.ARC are distributed together and unaltered. If after evaluating PC-ACCOUNT, you decide to use it, you must submit the registration fee. The registration form is at the end of the documentation and a copy can be printed from a menu in the program. There is no warranty, expressed or implied with respect to this manual, the software or any related items, their quality, performance, or fitness for any particular use. It is the user's responsibility to determine their suitability for any particular purpose. The author will in no event be held liable for direct, indirect or incidental damages resulting from any defect or omission in this manual, floppy disks, or other related items and processes, including but not limited to any interruptions of service, loss of business or anticipatory profit, or other consequential damages. PC-ACCOUNT comes with a Microsoft program called BRUN20.EXE. This copy of BRUN20.EXE is to be used only with PC-ACCOUNT. PC-ACCOUNT is a trademark of John P. Bauernschub, Jr. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines, Inc. 1-2-3 and Lotus are registered trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation. Diablo is a registered trademark of Xerox Corporation Epson FX is A trademark of Epson America, Inc. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION..................................1 TUTORIAL......................................6 STARTING PC-ACCOUNT..........................27 SETUP CHECK FORMAT...........................34 REFERENCE SECTION............................45 MISCELLANEOUS TIPS...........................55 APPENDIX A Using PC-ACCOUNT Data with Lotus 1-2-3....60 APPENDIX B Technical Information............63 APPENDIX C Hackers Information..............64 PC-ACCOUNT REFERENCE CARD....................66 CHECK FORMAT REFERENCE CARD..................67 REGISTRATION FORM............................68 Copyright 1986, 1987 John P. Bauernschub, Jr. 14809 Clavel Street Rockville, Maryland 20853 301-460-0354 All Rights Reserved INTRODUCTION PC-ACCOUNT PC-ACCOUNT is a personal accounting system with data base retrieval capabilities. With it, you can discard your checkbook ledger. This is a double entry system that is preset for a total of 75 accounts. 60 accounts are asset accounts and 15 are bank accounts that are used for checking, savings and loan accounts. Its most unique feature is its ability to print on any personal check. Personal checks are usually not laid out for the normal line spacing of 6 lines per inch. This program utilizes the variable line spacing of most printers to achieve the efficiency and accuracy of having your computer print checks. A utility lets you create formats for fifteen different checking accounts. The check is printed as soon as the transaction is completed. The amount is printed on the check in words. A directory is maintained of check payees and memo data to be printed on the check, such as its purpose or your account number with the payee. Payees are selected by number, and the name and memo are automatically transferred to the check. Searches can be made for all transactions against an account, for a user defined code, for an amount, for a text string within the comment, or for a check number. These searches can be made through any selected consecutive months, so a full years transactions in a specific category can be retrieved at tax time. Combinations of these conditions may be used in a single search. Recurring transactions such as loan payments and cash distributions to accounts can be saved, edited and invoked on command for auto entry. There is a routine which can reconcile your bank statement swiftly. You can double check the line by line totals in your checkbook. The system works on a monthly cycle. At the end of the cycle and on command, the current months account and transaction files are closed and new files are created for the next month. However, the closed months transactions and account balances are still available. This system makes full use of the features of the IBM PC. All 10 function keys are used. The display color can be changed and the color parameters saved. Listings of accounts and transactions can be output to the screen, to the printer, to a disk text file, or to a file that can be imported by Lotus 1-2-3. This software works on the IBM PC/XT/AT and JR with 256K of free memory and at least 1 double sided disk drive. It runs under PC DOS 2.0 and later versions. -1- INTRODUCTION PROGRAM OVERVIEW PC-ACCOUNT is a simple system for managing your finances. It utilizes accounts and transactions. Accounts are identified by name and number. The results of transactions are stored in these accounts. Transactions take money out of one account and put it into another. The following is a simple example of the theory behind this system. The account numbers, names and balances for this example are given in figure 1. There are two types of accounts. Those with assigned values of money are called asset accounts. Those that represent actual cash are called bank accounts. The sum of the asset accounts will always equal the sum of the bank accounts. A transaction always involves two accounts. Money can be transferred from one asset account to another. For example, if John purchased something for $25 and charged it to the VISA card, PC-ACCOUNT would process it as follows. $25 would be added to account 10, the account for VISA. $25 would be subtracted from account 8, John's account. There has not been an actual transfer of cash so the totals for the asset and bank accounts will not be changed. ASSET ACCOUNTS 1 CASH 100.00 2 SAVINGS 250.00 3 UTILITIES -30.00 4 INSURANCE 70.00 5 MEDICAL -160.00 6 VACATION 0.00 7 CAR MAINTENANCE -40.00 8 JOHN 75.00 9 MARY -30.00 10 VISA 170.00 TOTAL 405.00 BANK ACCOUNTS 61 CHECKING ACCOUNT #1 42.55 62 CHECKING ACCOUNT #2 112.45 63 SAVINGS ACCOUNT 250.00 TOTAL 405.00 Figure 1. Accounts and Initial Values. -2- INTRODUCTION During a month there may be other purchases made with the VISA card. These could transfer funds from other accounts such as medical and car maintenance to the VISA account. When the VISA bill arrives, and we will say it is for $150, it will be paid from checking account #1. This is PC-ACCOUNT account number 61. For this transaction, the $150 will be subtracted from both accounts. Not only will the balances of account 10, the VISA account, and account 61, the checking account, decrease by $150, but so will the totals of the asset and bank accounts. Figure 1 does not represent any output from PC-ACCOUNT; it is only used as an illustration for the above explanation. Now, it probably occurred to you that when you make a deposit into a bank account, the reverse of what was just said is true. And you are correct. Deposits are added to the bank account and to an asset account. Also, the totals of the asset and bank accounts will increase. This is not as complex as it sounds. PC-ACCOUNT takes care of everything for you, so do not be concerned. In fact, this is a reason to use PC-ACCOUNT to make it easy for you to keep the arithmetic correct. Sounds simple enough to do with an adding machine. Why use a computer and PC-ACCOUNT? Well, PC-ACCOUNT does many things with your transactions. It actually creates a data base so that information can be retrieved quickly. For example, you can find all transactions for a specific account, amount, search code, comment text or check number. PC-ACCOUNT makes a record for each transaction. This record will include the amount, the account numbers, the date, a comment, the check number and a search code that you create for your own use. This search code can be used to indicate medical expenses, tax items or whatever you desire. Transaction records can be edited, and any data item can be changed. PC-ACCOUNT has other automated features. An important one is printing on your checks. There is a utility for creating a set of instructions for PC-ACCOUNT to print on the personal checks you now have. So, expensive form fed checks are not necessary for you to enjoy the efficiency and neatness of computer printed checks. You can also create a file of people and institutions to whom checks are to be paid along with a reference or memo to be printed on the check, such as an account number. This data is scrolled in a window whenever you are entering a transaction that will print a check. You then select the payee by its sequence number. -3- INTRODUCTION PC-ACCOUNT will also let you create files of standard transactions. This means that recurring transactions that are the same each month, such as mortgage, loan payments and distributions from cash to other accounts, can be automatically processed. New account and transaction files are created each month. However, transaction files for all or selected sequential months can be searched at one time. PC-ACCOUNT was written specifically for the IBM PC, and takes advantage of many of its features. For example, a ledger of all accounts with their name, current and previous month's balance and account totals can be displayed in a flash with the touch of a function key. Function key 1 displays the information for accounts 1 to 40. Function key 2 displays accounts 41 through 75 and the totals of the asset and bank accounts. Any function key can be pressed at any time. Function keys 1 and 2 are often used while entering a transaction to get the number of the account that you wish to use. When these screens are displayed, the touch of a key will return the screen that you were using and position the cursor exactly where you were. Function key 4 will display the list of what all the function keys do. Function key 6 will let you change both the foreground and background colors to what you like, and will save the color information for the next time you use the program. Another feature of PC-ACCOUNT is its calendar. Often in financial planning it is necessary to look at a calendar to find a date, such as when to mail a check to pay the mortgage. PC-ACCOUNT has its own calendar routine. The current, previous and next two months can be displayed by the touch of function key 3. PC-ACCOUNT prompts for all input. A list of commands are displayed whenever a command choice is requested. There are some other capabilities that will present themselves in the HELP displays and in the rest of this manual. The best way to start using PC-ACCOUNT is to first read the Tutorial section and, at the same time, use the tutorial software. Then follow the instructions in the Getting Started section to initiate your own data files. Two other sections that are available when you have the need are the Setup Check Format and the command Reference sections. -4- INTRODUCTION PC-ACCOUNT EFFICIENCY FEATURES PC-ACCOUNT is a tool that is designed to be easy and efficient to use. The following are some of the features that accomplish this goal. When PC-ACCOUNT starts, it sets the Num Lock ON so you may use the numeric keypad on the right of the keyboard for all numeric inputs. PC-ACCOUNT does not use any of the cursor key functions. Forward and backward scrolling is performed with function keys 9 and 10. PC-ACCOUNT turns the Num Lock OFF when it ends. All of the PC-ACCOUNT commands and menu selections require only a single key to be pressed and do not require the use of the RETURN key. In addition, many of the prompts have a default answer displayed in brackets. The default is selected simply by pressing the RETURN key. Transactions are entered using a free form input to minimize keystrokes. Payee and transaction search codes are displayed in scrolling windows that pop up just when you need them. The status of all accounts can be flashed to the screen whenever you need to see them by touching a function key. PC-ACCOUNT keeps all of the account and transaction data for the month being worked in memory for instant access. If you make any changes or additions, the data will automatically be written to the file when you exit that section. PC-ACCOUNT is programmed to give you the option of writing account and transaction data to the disk before the program terminates in the event of an error that it cannot correct. PC-ACCOUNT lets you jump to DOS to execute other DOS functions or programs while it stays resident. You then return instantly to PC-ACCOUNT with the DOS EXIT command. -5-